On Saturday 2 May, Ffair Cymru – The Fête of Wales arrives in Swansea, hosted across Urban HQ and the Volcano Theatre. Framed as a day of conversation, creativity and shared reflection, the event brings together organisations, artists, activists and residents to consider where Wales is heading – and how ordinary people might shape that future themselves.
Why Swansea, why now?
For Swansea, this matters. The city, like others, has long been shaped by forces beyond its control. Economic shocks, deindustrialisation and decisions made elsewhere have fractured communities and hollowed out civic confidence, leaving many voices unheard. Against that backdrop, Ffair Cymru offers something deliberately different. This is a space where civic discussion is not dominated by professional expertise or party branding but rooted in lived experience, curiosity and mutual respect.
Organisers describe the day as an opportunity for “honest conversations” held in a safe and playful environment. That phrase is significant. Playfulness is rarely associated with politics, yet it is often through creativity (e.g. writing, art, movement, shared food) that people find the confidence to speak honestly about difficult questions. In this sense, play is not an escape from democratic seriousness but one of its enabling conditions.
Democracy, made practical
That philosophy runs throughout the programme. Democracy here is explored not only in theory but through hands‑on, participatory activity. Mioe Creative Productions’ Build Your City invites participants to design an ideal city, balancing budgets, choosing services and uncovering their own political instincts along the way. OMiDaze’s Talking Shop and Democracy Box creates round‑table spaces to explore how participation really works – and where power currently sits. Meanwhile, Byline Network’s Citizen’s Agenda draws people into local journalism, encouraging them to unpack stories and reflect on what truly matters in their own communities.
Questions of shared values and collective priorities are threaded through workshops such as Common Cause Foundation’s Exploring Our Values Together, while Our House’s Charter for Swansea invites residents to collaboratively shape a vision for the city’s future – not as a finished manifesto but as a living document reflecting shared hopes and tensions. Initiatives like The Good Neighbours Directory similarly focus on mapping and celebrating existing networks of care that so often go unrecognised in formal politics.
“Our hope for the day is that people leave feeling a little more connected, a little more hopeful, and with some practical ideas for how to build on that, in a gathering that feels made for exactly this kind of conversation.”
Elsie Roderiquez Common Cause Foundation
A Welsh tradition of solidarity
This emphasis on participation and collective agency draws on a long Welsh history of self‑organisation and mutual care. As Ruth Campbell, from Climate Cymru’s Imagine Action team, explains:
“Across Wales, there’s a long tradition of caring for one another and shaping our futures collectively. From workers organising medical care in Tredegar, to quarrymen standing together in Penrhyn, to farmers building co‑operatives in Aberystwyth, Welsh communities have always known the power of solidarity. We’re super excited to support the people of Swansea and Wales in hosting this day, which is all about helping us inhabit a better story of care and community empowerment that we all know we need.”
That idea – of democracy as something practised, inherited and renewed – underpins much of what Ffair Cymru sets out to do.
Creativity as civic practice
Culture and civic life are intentionally interwoven throughout the event. Rufus Mufasa, acting as Poet‑in‑Residence, will create and curate a live, evolving poetic artwork across the day, while Mari Ellis Dunning’s Writing as Resistance frames poetry and spoken word as tools of political expression and activism.
Visual culture also plays a prominent role. Ronny Oner’s Graffiti Workshop offers guided street‑art practice, and Artists for Palestine host banner and poster‑making sessions that connect local creativity to wider struggles for justice and solidarity.
At Volcano Theatre, an accompanying film programme in the Volcano Cinema showcases Welsh stories, situating present‑day conversations within longer cultural narratives. Live performances – including music, spoken word and comedy – punctuate the day, adding energy and provocation to discussion.
Care, climate and belonging
Care, connection and everyday wellbeing are treated as political concerns in their own right. The Chinese in Wales Association brings both a beginner‑friendly Tai Chi session and a traditional tea ceremony, creating moments of calm reflection amid debate. The Camerados’ Public Living Room offers a deliberately informal space to sit, talk, or simply be, while Humanity Project’s Recipes of Love centres dialogue around shared food and hospitality.
Climate action runs throughout the programme as a connecting thread rather than a stand‑alone theme. Climate Cymru’s Imagine Action Training focuses on translating concern into practical steps, while Women4Resources host conversations exploring the uneven impacts of climate change on women and girls. Pathways to Peace’s creative dialogues on peace in Wales, alongside The CAE’s arts‑and‑climate workshop, underline how questions of environment, justice and community are deeply entwined.
Ekemini Ukpe from CAE says:
“By coming together through creativity and storytelling, we can amplify diverse voices, strengthen belonging, and deepen conversations around climate justice.”
A broader democratic moment
Taken together, this blend of discussion, performance and shared making resonates strongly with Swansea’s civic traditions. From its radical industrial past to its vibrant cultural life, the city has long been a place where culture and politics meet. Ffair Cymru draws consciously on that inheritance, recognising that democracy is not only institutional or procedural but cultural – practised through relationship, expression and shared space.
The event also speaks to a wider Welsh moment. Devolution promised politics closer to home, yet many people still experience decision‑making as distant or abstract. Consultations can feel opaque, participation limited to those already comfortable navigating formal systems. In this context, citizen‑led spaces like Ffair Cymru are not a rejection of democracy but a response to its narrowing.
A modest, hopeful experiment
For Swansea residents, the opportunity to encounter democratic questions in ways that feel human and accessible matters. This is not about party allegiance or electoral cycles. It is about asking deeper questions – what we value, how we disagree, and how we care for one another – in settings that invite listening as much as speaking.
If there is a lesson here, it is a modest but hopeful one. Democracy does not disappear when institutions falter; it adapts. Sometimes it moves into theatres, studios and shared spaces by the sea – carried forward by people who still believe that talking together, openly and creatively, is worth the effort.
More from Robert G Davies
Bylines Network Gazette is out!
The latest Bylines Network Gazette is out now. Become a Friend of Bylines Network or upgrade to a paid Substack subscription, and you will get access to a vital collection of citizen articles and stories.
Journalism by the people, for the people.
